Joan's PONDERINGS and MUSES
Some days it's genealogy...Lots to share, some days it may cover "whatever", and who knows what might spark interest and new friends.

Welcome ! Come join me and find out what we may have in common

Picture a welcoming place to sit, a warm, friendly enviroment,

maybe a steaming cup of coffee or tea and a smiling face that is intereted in sharing many thoughts....I have a curious mind and if you are reading this my guess is you do too...let's share a few minutes and some conversation as friends old and new.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Isles of Shoal

Hi Friends,

I have been traveling so genealogy has not been my top priority ( that is until this past week)
Periodically I go over my research and look again at brick wall or dates, or add information on
individuals as do most people who enjoy genealogy. Well, this week opened up a very interesting
hole in which I learned about some colorful ancestors that lived on the Isle of Shoals, Me
I found out Nathaniel Foss from Rye, Rockingham, NH was married to Mary ( Molly) Tucker.
Following her line lead me to the Tuckers and Olivers of the Isle of Shoals about 6-10 miles off the coast
of New Hampshire and boarder of Maine. This was a rough place and the people who lived there were fishermen.
It is said Blackbeard honeymooned there and the men and women there were as salty as the surrounding sea.
Well, first I had to look up and read about these Islands and as the day wore on I found myself completely immursed in the Isle of Shoals and my new found ancestors. I know many people are delighted when they learn one or more of their ancestors had some wealth or prestige ( I have some of those) but these people were the foundation of a very interesting story!! What must have it been like to live off the mainland so isolated and exposed to the whims of weather, pirates, and well, my immagination was in full gear!
It is stories like this that make genealogy so much fun!
Friends sometimes you think there is nothing else you can "find" but if you are persistant...well who knows what you might uncover...another family another story it's all such a wonderful learning experience!

I have many ancestors there, too (MACE, MUCHMORE, FROST, GIBBONS) and a distant 1st cousin married John Tuck (1702 - 1773), one of the first ministers out there at Gosport Harbor. Can you imagine being the minister out there? He spent his time trying to marry all the people who already had children and had been living together for years without a church or law? What stories! Thanks for posting!